Life on Fast Forward

Wayman Tisdale lived life on fast-forward...

To accomplish so much in such little time

To touch so many lives, definitely mine

There was something sinister about that huge smile!

A "knowing" that he would be gone in a while

A super-hyper gusto that was always on ten

I think of it now, but I noticed it then

Wayman was on roller-blades, skating through problems

While the rest of us dragged around trying to solve them

His children, his family, even his wife

Seemed all but tethered to so BIG a life

Thank God it’s contagious, cause now we see it in them

Their faces are radiant, not hopeless or grim 

God loved Wayman enough to prepare him a place

With super huge chairs in a super huge space!

His humor was BIG, but so was his pain

Now we'll need that laughter... seems so insane

We’re missing the jokester, the forward, the clown

Seems that Daddy came calling, and just made him lie down

The big kid Wayman was, God prob'ly called twice!

But to think of Tis' chillin... I tell you... that's nice

Life on fast-forward

He was a fast forward

Olympic Gold Medal forward

All-Star forward

Then he moved music forward

And the song had just started when God moved Wayman forward

And the game is in overtime

For endless time

But Wayman’s not sweating

Or striving or suffering

No more suffering

He’s in the zone, face to Face

The fast forward is with the Savior

And it’s hang time!

The sad memory is the last time I saw my friend, in Memphis along with George Duke three weeks ago.  I hugged him and told he and Regina that Ruby and I were continuing to pray.  He was so obviously weak and had lost so much weight.  But man that smile!  It was like a moonbeam!  Make that a sun ray!  It was heavenly.  And for good reason, Wayman probably had a good idea he wouldn't be here under the sun too much longer.  He and Regina have a lovely ranch there in Oklahoma... but nothing compared to the mansion he's in now!  I have so many wonderful memories of hanging with Wayman and Jonathan Butler––we toured together as the Rendezvous All Stars.  90% of those memories involve Wayman either clowning, joking, doing impersonations, or just being silly!  It was non-stop.  And those laughs were like fuel for us on the hard travel days and when the show didn't go like we wanted.